Elizabeth C. Hall Papers (PP)

The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. © 2005

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Biography of Elizabeth C. Hall

Elizabeth Cornelia Hall (1898-1989) began her career at the NYBG as Head Librarian in 1937. She was appointed Sarah Gildersleeve Fife Research Librarian from 1960 to 1962 and went on to serve as Associate Curator of Education from 1964 until her retirement in 1967. During her thirty years at the NYBG, she gave advice to tens of thousands via telephone and correspondence; was an active lecturer on many gardening and horticultural topics; taught adult education classes; led garden tours and was a frequent contributor to library and gardening journals and newspapers including the New York Times. She was extremely influential in the contemporary garden literature of the post World War II period. In 1969, the New York Botanical Garden awarded her its Distinguished Service Award. Known to all as "Miss Hall", she was beloved and respected by all those who knew her.

Born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1898, she received a BA in chemistry from Radcliffe College in 1921 and a certificate from the Ambler School of Horticulture (then called the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women) in 1934 and a masters degree in library studies from the Columbia University School of Library Service in 1936. In 1937 she came to the NYBG as Head Librarian from the Horticultural Society of New York where she was Librarian from 1930.

After she retired from the NYBG in 1967, she went back to the Horticultural Society to work as a volunteer. She had a prodigious knowledge of rare books and helped the Society to catalog its collection in order to document the HSNY's holdings of important early botanical literature for botanical institutions and museums worldwide. At the same time, she assisted T. H. Everett in the compilation of his monumental ten volume work, The New York Botanical Garden Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horticulture. Together, they labored on the project for 14 years. After the encyclopedia was published, she worked from 1982 along with T. H. Everett running the New York Botanical Garden Plant Information Service until her death.

Scope and Content

The personal papers of Elizabeth C. Hall consist of correspondence, photographs, printed memorabilia, awards, notebooks, diplomas and certificates. Included herein are copies of lectures given and articles written. Miss Hall's family are documented as well as her professional career.

Restrictions

Access restrictions

This collection is open for research with permission from Mertz Library staff.

Copyright

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be submitted in writing to the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden.

Related Material

New York Botanical Garden Archives

Records, [ca.1900]-1966.

Oral history project interview transcript, 1973.

Columbia University, Butler Library, Oral History Research Office

Box 20, Room 801 Reminiscences of Elizabeth Cornelia Hall: oral history, 1973.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Elizabeth C. Hall (PP), Archives, The New York Botanical Garden.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to by Elizabeth C. Hall.

Processing Information

Processed June 2005 by Kathleene Konkle under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) PA-50678-04.

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